"Sweet on You" by Becky Wade - Bradford Sisters, book 3

Britt Bradford and Xander Ford have been best friends for years, but unbeknownst to Britt, Zander has been in love with her for just as long. When Zander's uncle dies, he comes home only to discover facts that indicate his uncle may not have been the person he seemed to be. As he and Britt work together to untangle the past, will the truth come to light?

Wow.

Read Then Came You, True to You and Falling for You, and then read this book. Wow.

People love to write headstrong, spunky, independent heroines. They're smart, fun, and what many of us dream we could be like. But to be honest, I get a little tired of them, as they rarely feel truly real. Britt Bradford is the epitome of headstrong, spunky, and independent, but unlike so many other heroines who answer to that description, she feels 100% real. Her flaws aren't limited to impulsively doing idiotic things that could get her killed--she has deep-seated pride. She's the strong one, the one who is never badly hurt, the one who stands strong for those who are. As different as my personality is from hers, I identified more with her (or rather, her flaws) than I have with a heroine in long time. When one is used to being the strong one--the one who stuffs the disappoints deep inside to be the strength for those who aren't strong--it's so hard to release it. To open up, be vulnerable, and share. To not be strong all the time. When Britt is finally forced to confront her flaws, it's powerful. And hard--seeing one's flaws splayed across a page isn't exactly fun, but it can be cathartic too.

At the same time, I also identified with Zander's introversion, and his struggle to hope:

When you prayed for something every day and heard nothing but silence for more than a decade, it ground down your hope like corn into cornmeal. Zander had begun to wonder if God could still be good while denying him the one thing he prayed for most. Could he depend on a God who refused to give him what he'd waited years for? 

The right answer was yes. God was still good. God was still dependable. However . . .

Maybe not everyone has dreams that they've been waiting on for years, but I think a great many of us do. And that's the perfect description when one has been waiting . . . and waiting . . . hoping, yet losing hope in each passing year. And knowing that God is still good and dependable through it all, even though it hurts.

The characters are great. The story is fun and exciting--more suspenseful than we typically see from the author! It's both humorous and cuts deep to the heart of an issue. And wow, can Zander speak when he lets his heart do the talking . . . He's wasted writing thrillers. Romance should be his genre. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

Bradford Sisters Romances
0.5: Then Came You (prequel novella)
1. True to You
2. Falling for You
2.5: "Because of You" (published in The Christmas Heirloom Novella Collection)
3. Sweet on You

"The Unexpected Champion" by Mary Connealy---High Sierra Sweethearts, book 3

Pinkerton Agent John McCall's task seemed easy--find a lost boy and return him to his grandparents back East. But he didn't count on the Nevada winter, or the trouble dogging the family caring for the boy, or the family themselves--particularly the child's feisty, woods-smart aunt Penny. When John and Penny are abducted together and then lost in the wilderness, they discover there's something more going on than meets the eye, and it's up to them to stop the ruthless man behind it all.

I loved how both woods-smart Penny and city slicker detective John were both able to shine in their skills--first Penny getting them through the wilderness, and then John in investigating in the city (which I loved--he's in his element there, in ways I did not expect). They're each a little different from the average hero and heroine, which made for a fun switch, and they really compliment each other well. Once they agree to be on the same side, that is.

It's a lighthearted, fun conclusion to the series, full of traditional Connealy chaos. I'd recommend reading the first two books first, as it picks up immediately where the previous book left off.

Thank you Bethany House and Goodreads for the free book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

High Sierra Sweethearts
1. The Accidental Guardian
2. The Reluctant Warrior
3. The Unexpected Champion

"The Artful Match" by Jennifer Delamere---London Beginnings, book 3

When Cara Bernay finds herself sacked after nearly losing a child in her care, she travels to London to stay with her sister, only to be sidetracked by a charming artist who finagles her a place to stay and work on her art. Henry Burke, Earl of Morestowe wants his emotionally unstable artist brother home, only to come across Cara as his brother's staunch defender. When it proves that Cara seems to have a good influence on him--and more importantly, Henry's recalcitrant ward--he is willing to overlook her mysterious background and questionable aspirations to invite her to stay with them a few weeks in the country.

Cara is very sweet and naive and especially good with children, but sometimes her impulsive (and frequently foolish) decisions threatened to drive me crazy. Just because things generally turned out all right is no excuse to, for instance, go home with a man she meets that day on the street, even if he appears to be a harmless, impulsive artist. She's a human trafficking statistic waiting to happen. I also didn't understand her reasoning for falling in love until the end when it was explained better--not sure if I missed it initially, or it wasn't explained until then--but it underscored her occasional lack of good sense (how could a penniless orphan suddenly believe she was destined to marry an earl?). But I did appreciate that as mad as she is at her sisters, Cara still clearly loves them--years of love don't turn into hate just because she's angry.

I guess one could call this a comedy of misunderstandings (not that it's particularly humorous, though it is fairly light in tone): a lot of grief and frustration could have been avoided if things had been talked through rather than allowed to fester into misunderstandings. Granted, without them we wouldn't have had a story, as Cara would have sensibly gone to her sister's and Henry and his brother might not have spent years of undeserved animosity. And then Henry and Cara would never have met, and they do actually balance each other out quite well.

It was nice to have resolve to things brought up in the first two books and interesting to catch a glimpse of the late Victorian art scene. I enjoyed seeing the different ways the Victorian era changed life for women throughout the series.

Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

London Beginnings
1. The Captain's Daughter
2. The Heart's Appeal
3. The Artful Match

Lisa T. Bergren's "Verity"---The Sugar Baron's Daughters, book 2

After too long from hearing from her love the sea captain, Verity Banning decides to take matters into her own hands, starting an importation business and using it as an excuse to travel to the colonies in search of him. But instead of her love, she finds his brother--Ian McKintrick--and is swayed by his passion for the American patriot cause.

I enjoyed getting to know Verity more in this book. I admit, I didn't care as much for Ian--he's too volatile, too apt to shoot off his mouth, too likely to lose his temper. I did like how honorable he was in pursuit of Verity, though, making it clear where his allegiances lie. Verity, even as impulsive as she is, is good for him, tempering his volatility.

But the book was exciting, sailing between Nevis and New York several times, so we could really see the progression towards war. It was a unique angle of the American Revolution, seeing how it affected not just trade on the East Coast but the Caribbean island countries who relied on American imports. I'd never before considered the differences between those island planters who remained staunchly British with dreams and ties to home (England), versus the Americans who, though many were also of British descent like the islanders, saw themselves as Americans and not as British citizens living on American soil--two totally different mindsets. Near the end, the book started giving me anxiety. It was thrilling; I wasn't expecting the story to go in that direction (and I loved it), but my heart was pounding and it was difficult to calm down enough to sleep!

Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

The Sugar Baron's Daughters
1. Keturah
2. Verity
3. Selah